The Neighborliness Video Group Study is designed for your church small group, leadership team, or group of friends. All you need is a facilitator and a place to meet. Simply hit play and I will lead your group in a one hour discussion from my living room in North Carolina to wherever you're meeting across the world. We will discuss relevant cultural topics and lead you into deeper relationships across dividing lines. Neighborliness points straight to Jesus and his love and leads us into relationships with others. Each group includes: Conversation starter to get the group warmed up....

"I don't want to make you nervous," Courtney (producer at GMA3) said to me, "but four million people will be watching this interview." We both laughed. "Honestly," I replied, "I'm not super nervous, I'm just ready to share this message that burns so deep in my heart to see our culture unified across dividing lines." I might be nervous tomorrow. Today, I'm grateful and ready. It's still so surreal that this is happening. We adapted the content of the interview on this call because of the mass shooting & tragic loss of life in Buffalo. Courtney asked me if it would be ok if they start the...

Friends & fam - Quick update from an amazing week ... Neighborliness hit number one in three different categories on Amazon this week for new releases and climbed all the way into the top six of all books in two different categories ... praise God! Quick request for your help ... Post about the book on your social media. Commenting and sharing things about the book helps keep it in people's feed, as well. Write a review on Amazon or GoodReads.com (or wherever you bought your copy). Tag me and use all the hashtags you can dream up (this actually helps)  The more traction we get from...

It’s easy to give God the glory when you know you’re in the middle of a miracle. “I have great news for you. We have just booked you on Good Morning America in April.” I rubbed my eyes to see if I was reading the email from my public relations manager at Harper Collins right. “Dara, look at this.” I said handing her my phone, “Chasity just booked me on Good Morning America.” I think I was expecting my wife to read something different back to me. "Good Morning America, there's no way," I said to myself. ABC’s morning show averages 3.3 million viewers each day and they want to spend five...

What are you doing to intentionally move toward racial and economic unity/diversity in your church or organization? This is a question that is vitally important to ministering/leading in the context of our culture. The world is watching. I think that the church and God-honoring organizational leaders can be a shining beacon of light that stand out in the darkness. However, there has to be a practical plan. Seeing churches respond to the message of my book, Neighborliness, has been awesome, but I my favorite piece of the journey has been seeing the way that pastors and community leaders have...

Dara and I went on a three-day beach trip to clarify the vision for Center City Church in 2014. The church we planted in 2010 was firmly rooted in the Uptown Charlotte community at that point. The idea was to break away, enjoy time together, and prayerfully consider the way we would articulate the vision and values of our beautiful church family. We returned home three days later with a family mission statement and five family values. ----------------------- Huge Post-It Notes are one of my love languages. You know the kind that you can stick on the wall and see from across the room? Those...

**I wrote this article for RELEVANTmagazine.com (published on September 14, 2020). ------------------------------ As Harold put away the groceries he received from his church’s food pantry, he found himself treating his cabinets and kitchen appliances with more care, the way people do when they are guests in an acquaintances home. He knew that soon a stranger would occupy his apartment. Unsure of where he and his sons would land come January, Harold fought against the anxiety and impending doom that 2020 carried in all its unprecedented glory. He could almost hear the proverbial clock...

The night before the release of my first book, Neighborliness: Finding the Beauty of God Across Dividing Lines, I want to introduce you to the team behind the message at the Fedd Agency. (From left to right in the pic above) My agent, Esther Fedorkevich, has been a friend for over twenty years. She always believed in me and this message, but she also courageously told me I wasn’t ready a few years ago when we first talked about working together. She told me to patiently wait for the message to form in my heart first. She told me she would be there when I was ready. This book is the fruit of...

I am so grateful to live in America, but I want to live in an America that is fully awake to the experience of our neighbors. People all over the country are celebrating the July 4th holiday. On this date in 1776, 13 American colonies declared independence from England. However, did you know that many people of color in our country do not celebrate July 4th? Instead, many prefer to celebrate on June 19th each year - known as Juneteenth. This was the date - 91 years later on June 19, 1865 - that the final slaves were set free in Galveston, TX. To understand American history, we have to open...